Last October, the same month After Hours Video opened for business, undercover agents from the Staunton and Waynesboro police departments, along with plainclothes officers from the Virginia State Police, purchased a dozen DVDs from the store. Weeks later, a special Staunton grand jury convened and charged Krial and his company, LSP of Virginia, with 16 felonies and eight misdemeanor charges of obscenity.
In January, Tinsley W. Embrey, an employee at After Hours Video, also was arrested and charged with 10 counts of obscenity, four of them misdemeanor charges.
The trial starting this week will involve the misdemeanor charges against Krial, his company and Embrey. The felony charges will be prosecuted if the misdemeanor charges lead to convictions.
Noted 1st Amendment attorneys Paul Cambria and Louis Sirkin will provide defense. Cambria will represent Krial and Sirkin will represent Embrey. Prosecutor Robertson will be assisted by Matthew Buzzelli, an obscenity attorney with the Justice Department.
Thirty-five potential jurors are expected to arrive Tuesday morning and another 25 have been scheduled for Wednesday if needed, according to the clerk of Staunton Circuit Court. A misdemeanor trial only requires seven jurors.